Photography is my true passion and career that I strive to in life, but tech has grown on me for the past 5 years and made a lasting impression. Through tech, I was able to meet 5 amazing young women who dared to be entrepreneurs.

It all started around the summer of 2017 when I met Brianna, Jabreya, Kelly, Sierra and Victoria while working for Microsoft. These high school students met through Ryan, who is part of Junior Achievement (JA) in Delaware, came into the store as participants in the Junior Achievement company program. When we met, they had the opportunity to learn a lot about what it takes to run a business, and decided to make their own small business with the help of JA.

Dare to Share

Swinging together and creating those moments

These young women explored many different ideas of what they wanted their business to be and what to name it. They finally came up with the name D2BU. So I asked, “what is D2BU?” They responded by saying “ D2BU stands for Dare 2B U. It’s a company that promotes positive awareness in not just youth and teens but everyone.” It was inspiring how I was able to see them start with an idea, spend just a couple of months creating a business plan, and immediately start running and operating a business within a few short weeks. Each young woman had a significant role in the company from being the president, to planning out marketing, to organizing sales, and to tracking financials, they all had a part in making the project a success.

They started making progress by selling shirts, something I just had to support, I purchased a cool, black D2BU, which I still wear to this day. They also created a plan for promoting their concept through social media. They asked people one question… “What do you dare 2 be?” Those words truly speak volumes to people who may be bullied, feel unworthy, the list goes on and on. This one question can change the minds of many people, and I am no exception. So I dared to be was a photographer and be a person that exudes creativity. I was truly inspired because it made me think about who I want to be.

Then they needed to have pictures to promote their brand. I offered to help these young entrepreneurs because I believed in their mission. So we set out to two locations, one on Main Street in Newark, DE and the other in Old New Castle, Delaware at Battery Park.

Dare 2B Powerful

Seeing them just bonding together was a truly remarkable, just getting together to create something positive. They also brought their friends to help with there D2BU campaign.

As the company program for these women ended, I saw a progression in all of them. Not only did they bond on a company they built from scratch, they learned a lot of life skills before hitting college. From running a business, to money management, to failures and success, they took a business that was just a dream and made it into a reality. So while some of these young women graduate high school and go off to college, one thing is true, D2BU is still running as a brand and maybe, just maybe, you might be asked what do you Dare 2 Be?